Got back Sunday from Michigan. This was my third Mo'Cool (not consecutive) and the theme was Bordeaux 5 X 5 (1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005.) I took a couple Bordeaux from the 2000 vintage and a half-bottle of 1995 Grand Puy Ducasse. Alan Kerr was the chef and the food was extraordinary at the Saturday picnic. One of my favorites was an appetizer of fig, seedless grape and special ham (similar to prosciutto) on crisp endive leaf. There was a gigantic bowl of very good guacomole, a cheese platter with probably eight or more varieties and a cheese dip, piperade, thin smoked salmon, etc. Also scallops and mussels. The main meat entree was beef (to go with the Bordeaux wines.) (At a Friday night party for out-of-towners we had a wonderful grilled beef with Joel Goldberg's special marinade. Smelled and tasted heavenly.)

Some of the exceptional wines I tasted on theme were a 1975 Chateau Lafite, a 1990 Lafite and a 1990 Pichon. On the "non-conforming table" I had some great Rieslings including a Beerenauslese. There were also more Ports than I could handle at that point but I did sample the 2000 Taylor and Fladgate Port. I didn't try to take notes other than writing down the names of some that I particularly enjoyed. A 2000 La Dame du Montrose was one of those. At the Friday night party I enjoyed 97 Geantet-Ponsiot Gevrey-Chambertin "les Juene Rois", 97 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Cazetiers", and 97 Domaine Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Combottes" all brought by one of the local organizers of the event. Mo'Cool stands for Motown Cooperative Offline and participants are mainly contributors to Wine Lovers' Discussion Group (WLDG).

I'm not sure if it was the Pichon-Baron or the Lalande. Someone else on the WLDG site may specify. I enjoyed it more than the 1990 Lafite. Joel Goldberg found it a good second to the Lafite, having them side by side and saying that is the difference between a first growth and a second but said David, one of the other participants, might prefer it over the Lafite. Both were delicious but the Pichon seemed more fragrant.